Recently, in a convenience store (hereinafter, referred to as a “CVS”), a multi-functional peripheral connected to a network is used in various situations such as issuing of an event ticket reserved in advance, issuing of a coupon ticket, and purchase of an item also allowing electronic transactions. On the other hand, the distribution amount of mobile terminal apparatuses equipped with a local interface or an interface of a wired or wireless LAN (Local Area Network) increases in recent years. Examples of such a mobile terminal apparatus include a mobile phone (which also includes one called smart phone), a mobile information terminal (PDA), a mobile PC (personal computer) and the like. Moreover, also in such a use case that the multi-functional peripheral as described above is connected from the user side, cases of using such a mobile terminal apparatus have been on the increase.
In addition, the development has been made in each company not only to provide a quick service for customers by cooperating with a network-compliant device in cloud computing (hereinafter, referred to simply as a “cloud”) but to improve the function of an appliance by cooperating with a serviceman who does maintenance or cooperating with totaling processing of various information.
An end user makes a reservation or registration for a necessary function from a network-compliance device such as a mobile terminal apparatus in advance and enjoys the function such as acquisition or purchase of information, a ticket and the like in accordance with the prescribed procedure in the CVS. In addition, not only in the CVS, but also in stalls of companies or public institutions such as universities similarly, cases where a short-distance wireless apparatus such as an IC (Integrated Circuit) card used as a student identification card or an employee identification card is used as a trigger of acquisition or purchase of information, a ticket and the like registered in advance have been on the increase.
In the cloud, identification information for identifying a user is used for extracting various types of information (for example, see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-108741, National Publication of translation No. 2008-506139, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-242658 and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-203168). Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-108741 discloses a technology that an ID (Identification) code is added to digitized distribution information and distributed onto a broadcasting or communication network as distribution information with the ID code, so that only an individual user who has an information device equipped with a function for identifying an ID code and has the ID code matched is able to view the distribution information, and an answer replied from the individual user is stored in a database with the ID code as a set.
National Publication of translation No. 2008-506139 discloses a technology that user authentication and service approving are managed to access a plurality of networks present in a plurality of domains only with single identification information.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-242658 discloses a technology that under a distributed environment where a client requesting a resource service and a server providing the resource service are connected through a network, by using a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) described in a format including procedure for converting a variable number of the URL to individual information of a client user, even a resource provider who does not manage individual information provides the resource customized for a user to the user using individual information.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-203168 discloses a technology that usage history information indicating a time-series operational state of electric appliances recorded in a terminal apparatus capable of remote controlling is received in a server and a usage state of each electric appliance is analyzed based on the usage history information, and recommended information based on the analyzed usage state is provided to the terminal apparatus.
In addition, a technology that an operation panel of a multi-functional peripheral or the like is customized according to a user is also proposed (for example, see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-366248 and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-282673). Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-366248 discloses a technology that in a programmed operation display apparatus which is connected to an external apparatus to be capable of performing display corresponding to a change in a state of the external apparatus, an individual who operates the operation display apparatus is identified to allow the display and operation of contents corresponding to the indentified individual.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-282673 discloses a technology that such a user customization is carried out in a management system in which OA equipment and a managing apparatus are connected through a network. In the management system described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-282673, the OA equipment reads out identification information from an IC card and transmits it to the managing apparatus, and the managing apparatus transmits panel information stored being associated with the identification information to the OA equipment, so that the OA equipment displays a panel image different from a panel image set to itself in accordance with the panel information.
With the technology described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-282673, it is possible to provide, based on user identification information registered in advance by a user, a user interface matched with the user to a multi-functional peripheral using a function of a cloud, without depending on an environment of places of the store of the CVS. That is, this technology enables to provide a user-customized user interface from a cloud server to the multi-functional peripheral, and also to provide a user interface capable of executing a function desired by the user, including a print function, a facsimile transmission function, an internet facsimile transmission function or the like, with one click, based on the usage history till now, for example.
First, however, using the multi-functional peripheral in the same model at all stores at all times is not realistic in view of a term required to introduce a system, a time of replacing devices, a production period of a manufacturer and the like, even in the stores of the CVS of the same chain. Second, a user does not always use a store where the multi-functional peripheral in the same model is installed. Third, there is a case where even multi-functional peripherals by the same manufacturer has different display capability of an operation panel and contents capable of being displayed on the operation panel even though the models are the same.
In view of such circumstances, in order to make it possible to always use a user interface desired by a user using the technology described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-282673, it becomes necessary to perform a task of advance registration in an image output service in advance in the same manner each time the model is different when going to a store. Moreover, considering from a viewpoint of usability, it can be required to perform such a registration task even for the information registered in advance, thus such convenience that the image output service is provided immediately on site at every store of the CVS is not provided.
In addition, it is also desired to provide user customization information including print setting information such as image quality and a sheet size desired by the user, and the like for the multi-functional peripheral from the cloud server for the future.